When it comes to success in the NFL, superstars may dominate the conversation, but more often than not, it’s the guys you don’t know who make the plays needed. when is They are needed. Such players can be rated low for all reasons. Perhaps they play in a small market, and the media is not properly reporting their exploits. Maybe they’re hidden deep in the chart behind big names that might not do that much. Or, maybe a coach never knew that someone needed height to get the best results for the team.
Whatever the reason, we at SB Nation always love to bring you the most underrated names. Offseason hidden gems and the then-Secret Superstars series. You can also find the AFC and NFC Secret Superstars for the 2026 season. Right here.
Here are our NFC Secret Superstars for Week 9 of the 2026 regular season. And if you haven’t already, Download the new SB Nation appSo read our stuff better and join the conversation wherever you are!
(According to all advanced parameters Next Gen statistics, Pro football focus, Sports information solutionsAnd Summer sports unless otherwise).
Alim McNeil, IDL, Detroit Lions
I’ve always had a thing for advanced defensive tackles. From John Randle to Geno Atkins to Grady Jarrett to Aaron Donald and beyond, the saying “underdog wins” has always meant something to me. Because if you have the chops to succeed in the NFL when you don’t meet the set size standards, there must be something pretty cool about you.
The Detroit Lions know this well, and they knew it well after selecting North Carolina State’s Alim McNeil with the 72nd overall pick in the third round of the 2021 draft. That’s why the Lions gave McNeil Four-year, $97 million contract extension with $55 million guaranteed 2024, and 2026 will likely be the 6’2″, 310-pound McNeill’s best season. Overall, he has 5.5 sacks, 34 pressures, 14 stops, and plenty of chaos to challenge offensive guards when lined up in the three-technique.
In Sunday’s 19-9 Lions win over the Miami Dolphins and safeties Kadin Proctor and Jonas Savainaia, McNeil was an absolute force with a sack and four total pressures. Now, he’s in lofty company among the inside linebackers around the NLL — right up there with the Chicago Bears’ Jeffery Simmons (more on him in a minute) and the Denver Broncos’ Zach Allen.
As Dan Campbell said, McNeil ties everything together when it comes to Detroit’s defensive line.
“Well, we talked about it a little while ago,” Campbell said of McNeil on Nov. 6. “I mean, that’s one of the reasons why Mack is such an impact player. If you can push the middle, first, it closes the run between him and (DL). Tyleik (Williams) is very good in the run game. But then it helps to return the pressure and move it. Hutchinson) Hutch, and that helps (EDGE DJ) Wonnum, and our other guys, (DL Skyler Gil-Howard) Skye.
“So man, it’s big, you get an edge guy and you get a guy in the middle, and then that guy opens up your pressure package, so just by itself, a four-man rush, you can create some chaos. But now when you decide to bring some of those pressure packages, it really helps.
“So Mack is doing a bad job. He’s playing at a high level right now.”
The Lions stand at 6-2 in the NFC North, which has become one of the most competitive divisions in NFL history, and as they look to create an up-and-down (to say the least) defensive sensation, Alum McNeal will continue to do his level to make the bill strong.
Devin Bush, LB, Chicago Bears
Soccer is a very competitive sport. No one can succeed without the efforts of others. And there are those few special players in the NFL who, at any given time, can not only destroy you with their own skills, but can make those around them better.
The Bears’ trade for Jeffery Simmons did the same for the entire Chicago defense. Since Chicago sent 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, as well as a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick on Oct. 28, the middle linebacker has moved into Midway’s New Monsters.
Games |
They play |
EPA is permitted per game. |
Opp Success Rate (%) |
Yards allowed per game |
EPA approved in Russia |
rush |
EPA is permitted per return. |
Back off |
pressure ratio (%) |
Bags |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| with Simmons | 2 | 110 | -0.358 | 32.7 | 4.45 | -0.121 | 43 | -0.51 | 67 | 37.7 | 7 |
| Without Simmons | 7 | 361 | -0.038 | 41.8 | 6.39 | -0.074 | 142 | -0.014 | 219 | 40.3 | 19 |
But it’s hard to name anyone who benefited more from Simmons’ arrival than linebacker Devin Bush. In Week 8’s win over the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago’s 27-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night, Bush took advantage of Simmons’ situation because the guy has to worry about himself as the guy every opposing offense looks closer to in hindsight. Bush especially stood out against the Bucs, with eight solo tackles, four interceptions, a tackle for loss, a quarterback rush, and two pass breakups in coverage.
Basically, wherever the Bucks wanted to be, Bush was first. And it helped the Bears win a game in which their own offense committed five or more turnovers — the first time they’ve done so since 2006. When you do it twice – Once in a 23-13 Week 13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, and more importantly in a 24-23 Week 6 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona coach Dennis Green got all legendary on the field after the fact.
As for Bush, the 2019 10th overall pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers traded with the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns before the Bears signed a three-year, $30 million contract with $21 million guaranteed. For the first time in his career (He was pretty good with the Browns last season, though.), Bush looks like the guy the NFL always wanted him to be.
“I think he’s getting better every week,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said of Bush after the Bucs win. “And off the cuff, we’ll have to watch the tape here, but this might be his best game yet as a Bear.” And we’ll see if that’s true or not. But he’s all over the place, playing physical when he hits guys. He is fast. He is a great coverage player. We already know this. “But I think his understanding of defense is allowing him to play really good football now.”
That, and Jeffery Simmons, will always get you there.
Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams got Myles Garrett back on the field Sunday for the first time since Week 1 — and Garrett matched the Washington Chiefs with three sacks and eight total pressures — but the team’s injury issues continued unabated in other areas. The two cornerbacks the team acquired in offseason acquisitions — Trent McDuffie (back) and Jaylen Watson (shoulder, season-ending) — were unavailable for this game, meaning Josh Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes were the next guys up. In Forbes’ case, that made him a start with the franchise that selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 draft and was released on November 30, 2024.
It’s rare for a team to release a first-round pick less than two years into the experiment, but Forbes’ time in Washington was a disappointment for everyone involved. The Rams signed him on December 2, 2024.And Forbes began to help change his career. It’s not a complete recovery story — the Rams went after McDuffie and Watson to bolster a cornerback group that still needs help — but Forbes has shown he’s willing and able to step into the eight. In a 20-13 win that made the Rams 5-4 on the season, Forbes allowed 19 yards on 10 targets, one touchdown, no interceptions, three pass breakups, a pass breakup and an opponent passer rating of 97.9.
“Yeah, I circled this one,” Forbes said postgame. “I was motivated to play them. They let me go two years ago, and I was ready to go out there and show what I’ve got.”
And what did he show himself?
“As a footballer, and when I play my best, I think I’m the best in the world.
McVeigh was not ready to go over thereBut he has been Surprised.
I thought he was great. I thought he played hard. I thought it came in run support. I thought it was stuck on a cover. (Playing coordinator/defensive backs coach) Jimmy Lake generally does a good job with that back. I thought him and (CB) Josh Wallace were really … good for us today. He plays. They’ve got a lot of guys who can make some plays, and Emmanuel Forbes did a great job today.
With the Dream Team stuff out the window, the Rams are trying to keep their postseason hopes alive. It’s clear that their backups help when they want to play over the backups, and they do just that. And it was good for Forbes to see what his former team learned.
